Firms are also becoming more ruthless about jettisoning underperforming partners, he added.

“The bottom line is major firms are getting smaller [and] they will keep high-performing partners, so they don’t go somewhere else, and only promote really exceptional senior lawyers to partnership.”

This structural change to top-tier firms may have unfortunate consequences for some, but there will also be rewards for talent, said Dwyer. Senior associates who miss out on a partnership role will be financially compensated, while two-to-four-year lawyers will be rewarded to “keep that talent in house”.

Interestingly, the trend is not a response to economic conditions, Dwyer claimed, and the expected post-election boost in corporate activity will not slow down deleveraging efforts.

Rather than make new hires to cope with the increased workflow, top-tier firms will expect their lawyers to work harder, he added.

“I remain bullish about a recovery in the market [but] this does not mean that there will be a recovery in the jobs market in the profession.”

Lawyers Weekly exclusively reported last month that the Melbourne offices of Allens, Baker & McKenzie, Corrs Chambers Westgarth, Herbert Smith Freehills, King & Wood Mallesons, Lander & Rogers and Slater & Gordon hired less than half, and in some cases less than a quarter, of their clerks that were vying for a 2014 graduate position.

A national recruiter, who is receiving dozens of phone calls each week from graduates struggling to find a job, described it as “the worst time in living history to be a law graduate”.

Dwyer added: “There is no doubt the market is flooded with resumes at the moment.”